15-inch MacBook Air expected early 2012

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Ever since the MacBook Air was released, no one has really been able to match it in the thin and light category of laptops. Apple’s super-thin design, coupled with solid performance and decent battery life has seemed unbeatable so far.

New competition is about to appear though, in the form of the Ultrabooks Intel is pushing so hard to become a new category of portable machine. Combine that with Apple not catering to consumers who want a larger display, unless they switch to the thicker, heavier, more expensive MacBook Pro, and there may be a gap in the market for the competition.

Apple isn’t sitting still, though. It is now expected that updated models of the MacBook Air will arrive in the first quarter of 2012. The big surprise? A 15-inch model is being added to the line-up next to updated 11.6 and 13.3-inch machines.

Existing Apple users who want a larger display will be delighted by this news if Apple has managed to retain the very thin design and overall look of the Air. For anyone looking to buy a new laptop, the 15-inch model may be the excuse they need to choose an Apple device over the many 15-inch Windows 7 laptops already available.

Of course, Apple won’t confirm a larger MacBook Air exists until the day they officially announce it. DigiTimes has only heard that a 15-inch model is in production for testing purposes, and is meant as a direct competitor to forthcoming Ultrabooks.

With the 13-inch model currently starting at $1,299, a larger Air is going to be a very expensive laptop. The MacBook Pro 15-inch model is $1,799, so should we expect a $1,599 base price? Also, what does this mean for the MacBook Pro? Surely it requires either phasing out the 15-inch Pro, or coming up with some larger differences to keep the two lines separate e.g. make the Pro more of a power-user laptop with a significantly higher base spec.

The MacBook Air is a very desirable laptop to own, but the ultimate question will be whether consumers are willing to pay upwards of $1500 for one?